New console, new rules. You can count the number of consoles that ever condoned vertical orientation on one hand.

it just occurred to me: 360, Wii, Wii U, Ps2, Ps3, Ps4....

you can count them all on one hand.....

I always thought it was cool that the logo on the PS2 could be rotated to match the orientation... and it was the last console that I set up vertically. For whatever that is worth. (not counting the Wii of course)

I watched some good videos over the weekend by Adam Sessler of G4 fame on different aspects of the Xbox One and why it won't suck. I think the Xbox's problem right now is the same problem the iPad had just before launch. Everybody's going, "What the hell do I need this for?"

I'm not saying the Xbox will achieve iPad levels of success once people get their hands on it. I do, however, feel that there's a lot of potential we're just not going to see until it's out in the wild, has time to mature a bit, and developers start focusing on it.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that people don't know they need yet? I mean, it's not like Kinect is a new thing. It's been out for a while for the 360 and has been somewhat of an average success. Is it the TV thing? I probably haven't been paying enough attention but those are the only two things I can think of and neither of them seem like something that will make people think, "Where has this been all my life?"

Just out of curiosity, what is it that people don't know they need yet? I mean, it's not like Kinect is a new thing. It's been out for a while for the 360 and has been somewhat of an average success. Is it the TV thing? I probably haven't been paying enough attention but those are the only two things I can think of and neither of them seem like something that will make people think, "Where has this been all my life?"

Kinect is not at all about the hardware, but rather the software to use it. Unfortunately up until now that software has been utter shit. If someone gets that right... I can see it taking off. I just wouldn't bet on it.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that people don't know they need yet? I mean, it's not like Kinect is a new thing. It's been out for a while for the 360 and has been somewhat of an average success. Is it the TV thing? I probably haven't been paying enough attention but those are the only two things I can think of and neither of them seem like something that will make people think, "Where has this been all my life?"

Kinect is not at all about the hardware, but rather the software to use it. Unfortunately up until now that software has been utter shit. If someone gets that right... I can see it taking off. I just wouldn't bet on it.

Am I naive to think it's ridiculous that MS isn't including a "Wii Sports" equivalent free pack-in game to showcase the new Kinect? Given that MS is really touting how much better the new Kinect is, and how it's an indispensable part of the new system, and how yes, we should all want to pay an extra $100 over a PS4 to get it, a free Kinect game medley seems like their best opportunity to get water cooler talk going about how awesome the Xbone is compared to the PS4.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that people don't know they need yet? I mean, it's not like Kinect is a new thing. It's been out for a while for the 360 and has been somewhat of an average success. Is it the TV thing? I probably haven't been paying enough attention but those are the only two things I can think of and neither of them seem like something that will make people think, "Where has this been all my life?"

Couple of points:

1. Kinect 2.0 really is a new thing, at least if you believe the demos/hands-on impressions. It fixes almost all of the shortcomings of the original Kinect and adds a lot of cool new features that could be really interesting if developers choose to implement them. Things it can do that Kinect 1.0 could not? See in the dark, measure heartrate, recognize facial expression, recognize finger movements, recognize weight shifting and momentum, operate in a smaller environment, and is supposedly MUCH faster due to dedicated processing. This may turn Kinect from a neat gimmick to a must-have accessory. Or it may not. Time will tell.

2. As far as the TV stuff goes, the guys on the video were pretty impressed with Skype as well as the fast response of the OS, app switching, and snap-in integration. If that snappy response also carries over to voice commands, then I can see where sitting down and saying "Xbox On, Watch CNN" or something like that would be really appealing. Most of us don't have Smart TVs and don't use voice control with our TVs. So we say we'd never use something like that, but do we really know? I was really outspoken against the iPad when it first launched, because I said I'd never need a tablet that surfed the web and played games and displayed e-books because I could do all that stuff already. What I couldn't see was the convenience and how it would integrate into my day-to-day life. Maybe this will be, maybe it won't, but it's something to consider.

3. We just don't know at this point how developers will use this toy box. I'm envisioning some cool stuff that could be done with TV integration. There are already a lot of shows that use tablet apps to sync with and provide interactive content - if this can all be done without me leaving my couch and grabbing a separate gadget, it may be something I'd utilize a lot more. What about a horror survival game that measures your heartbeat and adjusts content accordingly? I don't know, there's tons of stuff that probably could be done that we haven't thought of yet. And until it's invented, we won't know that we miss it.

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Am I naive to think it's ridiculous that MS isn't including a "Wii Sports" equivalent free pack-in game to showcase the new Kinect?

No, you're not alone. That's one of the most baffling decisions I've seen so far when it comes to Xbox One. In fact the ONLY Kinect game for launch is that stupid fighting game that looks horrible. I'm really hoping they might have something bundled in terms of demos or through Xbox Live that can showcase its features. On the surface I'd be inclined to think Kinect 2.0 just wasn't ready for primetime if not for all of the demo videos I've seen that say otherwise.

At any rate, I'm not trying to convince anyone that's already made up their minds. If you are getting an Xbox One, however, it's something to hang a little hope and excitement on.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that people don't know they need yet? I mean, it's not like Kinect is a new thing. It's been out for a while for the 360 and has been somewhat of an average success. Is it the TV thing? I probably haven't been paying enough attention but those are the only two things I can think of and neither of them seem like something that will make people think, "Where has this been all my life?"

Kinect is not at all about the hardware, but rather the software to use it. Unfortunately up until now that software has been utter shit. If someone gets that right... I can see it taking off. I just wouldn't bet on it.

Yeah, I actually thought the Kinect 1.0 as hardware was really good in terms of recognizing and reacting to my motion. I imagined all sorts of cool things you could do with software, but none of it seemed to surface. At bare minimum, something like a superhero game should be a no brainer. Think about all the "poses" superheroes use in the comics, give me a game that lets me feel like my motions and gestures are allowing me to fly, throw cars around, etc. - the motion recognition for the dancing games clearly can handle that sort of thing; all they need to do is translate it into something cool on screen. Ditto on sports games, would love a basketball game that gave me the feel of being right in the mix of the game, at least for shooting.

Personally I am looking forward to making the Xbox One the one stop shop in my media room. I know it sounds silly but I get annoyed every time I have to use the "source" button to swap between Blu-ray player, game machine, satellite box, and Apple TV. If they can get it all to integrate halfway decent with voice or motion recognition, I'd be pretty impressed.

it's the same attitude they've been expressing since the beginning, what with the whole net connection issue, leading up to the backpedal.

"fortunately we have a product for people without an internet connection - the Xbox 360."

also, amazed at how blown up this issue got. it's not like I went from day 1 buyer to no buy just because of this. in the end though, this isn't so different from the always online stance. they built a machine based on what they believed the majority of users were able to utilize and said "deal with it" to the rest. or the always connected Kinect. or the mandatory install. granted, they've since dropped those features, but it doesn't erase the fact that they designed their console around it.

and no, it's not something I can work around given the in-wall tv center that I have. when you have the limited space I have, both of my consoles (and the wii when I had it) were all standing upright, and alongside the shelf sticking out from the wall. this is one of those above fireplace tv nooks, and yes, I wish I had not gone this route. more of a hassle then it's worth. I know that's just my situation though so why do they care? nevermind the fact that my 360 collection dwarfs my PS3 collection by a huge number and had they designed the system to my interest (and had exclusive games I wanted and couldn't get elsewhere), I would be going XB1 at launch instead of PS4.

I imagined all sorts of cool things you could do with software, but none of it seemed to surface.

I'm praying that the fact that the Kinect install base will be 100% of Xbox One owners vs 13% of Xbox 360 owners will be the difference this time around.

That 100% gets hurt a bit by the predominance of cross-platform titles, though. Unless it's an Xbone exclusive, the extra Kinect features a game might feature are going to have to be optional, which means they have a good chance of feeling tacked on.

But in general, I agree. A Kinect in every box should definitely help developer buy-in this generation. But then again, as I typed that my mind drifted to how every single PS3 controller had sixaxis motion sensing and pressure-sensitive buttons, features that were very often completely unused or completely shitty.

I imagined all sorts of cool things you could do with software, but none of it seemed to surface.

I'm praying that the fact that the Kinect install base will be 100% of Xbox One owners vs 13% of Xbox 360 owners will be the difference this time around.

That 100% gets hurt a bit by the predominance of cross-platform titles, though. Unless it's an Xbone exclusive, the extra Kinect features a game might feature are going to have to be optional, which means they have a good chance of feeling tacked on.

But in general, I agree. A Kinect in every box should definitely help developer buy-in this generation. But then again, as I typed that my mind drifted to how every single PS3 controller had sixaxis motion sensing and pressure-sensitive buttons, features that were very often completely unused or completely shitty.

It will at least foster creativity. If someone has some awesome Kinect idea, they aren't stuck with 'well my TAM is 13% of half of the major consoles on the market HAHAHAHA YOU GET NO FUNDING' problem. 100% of half the major consoles is at least a market that someone may be willing to take a risk on.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that people don't know they need yet? I mean, it's not like Kinect is a new thing. It's been out for a while for the 360 and has been somewhat of an average success. Is it the TV thing? I probably haven't been paying enough attention but those are the only two things I can think of and neither of them seem like something that will make people think, "Where has this been all my life?"

Kinect is not at all about the hardware, but rather the software to use it. Unfortunately up until now that software has been utter shit. If someone gets that right... I can see it taking off. I just wouldn't bet on it.

Yeah, I actually thought the Kinect 1.0 as hardware was really good in terms of recognizing and reacting to my motion. I imagined all sorts of cool things you could do with software, but none of it seemed to surface. At bare minimum, something like a superhero game should be a no brainer. Think about all the "poses" superheroes use in the comics, give me a game that lets me feel like my motions and gestures are allowing me to fly, throw cars around, etc. - the motion recognition for the dancing games clearly can handle that sort of thing; all they need to do is translate it into something cool on screen. Ditto on sports games, would love a basketball game that gave me the feel of being right in the mix of the game, at least for shooting.

Personally I am looking forward to making the Xbox One the one stop shop in my media room. I know it sounds silly but I get annoyed every time I have to use the "source" button to swap between Blu-ray player, game machine, satellite box, and Apple TV. If they can get it all to integrate halfway decent with voice or motion recognition, I'd be pretty impressed.

Kinect 1.0 already has two such games. PowerUp Heroes (which is actually not terrible) and the Avengers one.

The Avengers one was kinda fun. I played the demo, it's basically a Kinect arena fighting game like SF2, or Mortal Kombat.

When I consider Kinect 2.0 a game like that should read you better, the movements wouldn't have to be super-exaggerated and it shouldn't sometimes get confused. I can't confirm it at this time, but I would *certainly hope* the read times are a little quicker.

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"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners." - Johnny Carson

That article was from early August, so there's the chance it has improved some even since then. It is important to note that IGN did not say it was lag-free, just better than the Kinect 1.0. I don't think a completely lag-free experience with this kind of input is being realistic though.

Well, I canceled my Xbox One preorder today. With Ryse and Dead Rising 3 not looking to be all that impressive after all, and those two games being the only ones that interested me in the Xbox One launch lineup, I've decided that I don't want to blow $500 on something right now that will get little or no use.

I'll most likely get one down the line...but I'd just rather spend that money right now on more PS4 games. However, I do hope everyone enjoys their Xbox One and I am glad that Microsoft listened to their customers and turned a huge clusterfuck into a pretty respectable system.

if you have 1000 friends this time around i hope they separate the notifications from the Achievement notifications,you can only turn off all notifications at the moment,but i want Achievement notifications on,but i don't want it telling me that up to 1000 friends are coming online

if you have 1000 friends this time around i hope they separate the notifications from the Achievement notifications,you can only turn off all notifications at the moment,but i want Achievement notifications on,but i don't want it telling me that up to 1000 friends are coming online

I want mine the other way around, since I care what my friends are doing and don't care about achievements. You are a bad friend

Yeah - and while I'd pile onto his concern, I am also reminded that all of the issues he mentioned (save the accent-affecting voice commands) were all within a game not scheduled for next year.

Per this article, the UI works fine with it, and the preview from August indicated that there are games working well with it.

On the flipside, the author was clearly not just trashing the system at blush - his concerns are real, and, having played Steel Battalion on Kinect, I am also concerned about how functional it is.

Kinect Sports Rival is still one of those games I wouldn't necessarily be interested in - it is MS's Wii Sports line, including all things motion (exaggerated). I may play it (hell, mgmt may even FORCE me to review it ). This game, and those kinds of experiences I am not looking forward to.

Quote from: Hetz on September 25, 2013, 03:49:56 AM

Well, I canceled my Xbox One preorder today. With Ryse and Dead Rising 3 not looking to be all that impressive after all, and those two games being the only ones that interested me in the Xbox One launch lineup, I've decided that I don't want to blow $500 on something right now that will get little or no use.

Hetz, just thought you should know:

Quote from: Kotaku article (above)

So, yes. I think there are issues there — not with the Xbox One, with Kinect specifically. Forza Motorsport looks incredible, Ryse seems to have made strides in the combat department and I walked away genuinely blown away by the scale and ambition of Dead Rising 3.

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"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners." - Johnny Carson

if you have 1000 friends this time around i hope they separate the notifications from the Achievement notifications,you can only turn off all notifications at the moment,but i want Achievement notifications on,but i don't want it telling me that up to 1000 friends are coming online

I want mine the other way around, since I care what my friends are doing and don't care about achievements. You are a bad friend

achievements don't happen that often,1000 friends this time around will mean a new notification will be appearing on the screen every minute<<<thats not even a joke,it will be every minute,maybe less,balls to that